Album reviews of Madonna, Sienna Spiro, Ten Part Invention
Madonna, Confessions II
★★★★
At a listening party for Madonna’s new album, producer Stuart Price revealed that he had revived the studio microphone used on the 2005 albums. Confessions on the Dance Floortaping the tracks together to save them Confessions II. You can’t blame Price for reaching for a talisman; His first album with Madonna was a critical and commercial success. But fortunately for the producer, her biggest client and her millions of fans, the sequel is Madonna’s best record in 21 years.
Impressively, it’s not a reheated version of the original. If the first record was inspired by disco bands like ABBA, Bee Gees and Cerrone, Confessions II Excerpts from Chicago, Detroit and New York house music that Madonna danced to in the 80s.
Built around a pulsating bassline that pays homage to the sound produced by Giorgio Moroder I Feel the Loveopener I Feel So Free serves as a bridge between Confessions I And II. One Step Away digs even deeper, its reverberating, watery synths reminiscent of Lil Louis’ 1989 classic French Kiss.
Price contemporizes the tracks while paying homage to the origins, loading the album’s harder middle section with frenetic breakdowns, vocoders and dubby EDM whomp. Madonna’s efforts to broaden her appeal come with zeitgeist guests including Sabrina Carpenter and Colombian reggaeton star Feid, but the album’s best collaborations TestIt features the wonderful vocals of Madonna’s eldest daughter, Lourdes (here, Lola Leon).
Leon reportedly suggested the song as a way to improve their relationship, and the results are striking; Madonna admits “you didn’t want all the flashing lights” and Leon admits “sometimes I wish I could multiply you but I know you’re all around me”. A series of deeply personal ballads like this one close out the album, and while 16 tracks is probably two or three too many, there’s no real misstep between them.
It might be the best dance hallA lavish tribute to the old Manhattan club where it all began for Madonna. Alas Vogueshe verbally drops the names of celebrities, this time trading Garbo and Monroe for Madonna’s own contemporaries. These include her onetime boyfriend Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nile Rodgers, the B-52s, and her longtime best friend Debi Mazar; Madonna is at the heart of ’80s New York nightlife and is making her own dazzling history.
It’s great to hear that Madonna is reconnecting with her roots after a series of failures over the past two decades. Confessions II and reminds us of who she is: the incomparable queen of pop. Of course he’s still dancing. Annabelle Ross
Ten Piece Invention, Time Shifted
★★★★
Someone is tinkering under the hood of the band I once called “the Rolls-Royce of Australian jazz”. When a few spark plugs are changed it starts purring again and when the gas is pressed it starts to roar.
In the 20 years since Sydney’s 10-piece Invention was last recorded, their fearless leader John Pochee has died. Half the group is now made up of new guys; This means that the other half have been with the group remarkably since its inception in 1986. Pochee would be excited to see the project continue, and accordingly, they will begin this double album with Andrew Robson’s song. Hymn to John. “Feeling love” has become a terrible cliché, but it’s clearly evident here.
Most importantly, the group soul durable. Compositions including mocking titles by Miroslav Bukovsky Nostalgia (it’s not like it used to be)It comes from the members, and there’s a sense that there are 10 different musical personalities still digging in the same sandbox, rather than one large well-trained band hitting their stride. The warmth of original bassist Steve Elphick’s voice is also central to the band’s character, and new pianist Kevin Hunt slides effortlessly alongside him, as does drummer Rease Cameron, while seven outstanding horn players keep the music’s character in constant flux. John Shand
Sienna Spiro, Visitor
★★★★
Every generation needs its own bold, soulful British balladeer, a strong, captivating woman who bridges the gap between pop and blues with powerful anthems that capture your imagination and break your heart. Boomers had Dusty Springfield, Gen X had Kate Bush, Millennials had Adele, and Gen Z found theirs: Sienna Spiro.
After the kick off Die on This Hill Blows up on TikTok, Spiro continues his first record, Visitor. A collection of deeply felt, painfully performed, piano-laden elegies, delivered with the confidence and patience of an artist well beyond his 20 years.
Spiro brings clarity to the dark depths of the soul. Open Visitor And we are not in loveIt reflects the heartbreak of relationships where one person gives more and loves more, that painful and dangerous power imbalance that turns your whole life upside down. Pure It is a poignant meditation on living up to self-imposed expectations of greatness. Great Expectation And He’s Not My Baby, I’m His Channel Amy Winehouse’s intoxicating vocals and sardonic lyrics mumbled over defiant puffs of menthol from a smoky jazz bar.
You stole the show best power ballad since someone like you. Someone to take off your seatbelt in your car, where no one can hear you trying to hit that huge chorus. God help the brave people trying to solve this problem in karaoke. Tom W. Clarke
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John Shand has written about music and theater for more than 30 publications since 1981, including for Fairfax Media since 1993. He is also a playwright, author, poet, librettist, drummer, and winner of the 2017 Walkley Arts Journalism Award.Connect with: X.
